WWE executive “Triple H” Paul Levesque is experiencing his darkest hour as WWE executive with the death of Bray Wyatt. Levesque had survived worse heart problems himself two years ago – and brought Wyatt back after the mysterious 2021 firing.

“Triple H” Paul Levesque took himself back in the darkest moment of his time as WWE’s ruler.

On Thursday, he broke the sad news to fans of the wrestling empire of the death of his top star Bray Wyatt at just 36 years old. The following day, the league’s current sole programming and personnel executive put on an emotional and dignified tribute show for Wyatt and icon Terry Funk, who had passed away shortly before.

Levesque – himself also a WWE wrestling legend – focused completely on celebrating the memory of the two deceased in the past few days. He let it fade into the background that the death of the 36-year-old Wyatt due to a heart attack must also have affected him personally in a special way.

The 54-year-old son-in-law of WWE founder Vince McMahon – like Wyatt a father of several – had serious heart problems himself two years ago that almost cost him his life and put his future in the WWE executive suite in doubt.

The fact that the situation in his case had a happy ending played a decisive role in Wyatt coming back to WWE last year. After his career there seemed to have come to an end under mysterious circumstances to this day.

WWE had released Bray Wyatt in 2021

As a reminder, in early August 2021 – just weeks before Levesque’s own heartbreak drama – McMahon, who was in sole charge at the time, had fired Wyatt.

As has since been reported, Wyatt’s heart problems were already known at the time and were apparently the background to Wyatt taking a break for health reasons in the months prior.

Well-known wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer Radio that the issue leaked out in the wake of Wyatt’s dismissal. It was not reported on in deference to Wyatt’s privacy.

Wyatt angered by rumours launched

Why Wyatt had to leave at the time was never publicly explained by WWE, and the circumstances have remained mysterious to this day. According to the Observer, Wyatt himself was told “budget cuts” were the reason.

In the course of the Corona pandemic, McMahon made many cuts at that time, among other things Wyatt’s companion Braun Strowman was fired in the meantime. The popular Wyatt, who was particularly popular in terms of fan merchandise sales, is said to have had one of the highest-paid contracts of all WWE stars.

What is known is that Wyatt publicly expressed his anger at reports launched at the time that weight and attitude problems – and specifically during his medical leave – had been a factor in his dismissal.

“So now you’ve heard Johnny and Bruce’s opinion – soon I’ll give my opinion,” Wyatt tweeted at a portal in the fall of 2021 that quoted a backstage source as saying he “deserved” his firing (“You guys would have fired him too if you had a business to run”). In doing so, he accused two McMahon confidants of speaking ill of him: Bruce Prichard, longtime centre of the creative team. And John Laurinaitis, Levesque’s predecessor as talent chief – since stumbled upon for his involvement in McMahon’s sex and hush money scandal.

When Triple H took over, things changed

When Levesque inherited both McMahon’s and Laurinaitis’ responsibilities in the summer of 2022 as a result of the scandal, things changed, and not just for Wyatt.

Levesque brought back numerous wrestlers who had lost their jobs under McMahon – including Strowman.

The message he conveyed in the process, according to “Top Dolla” AJ Francis – another returnee – was that whatever unresolved conflicts there were with McMahon “didn’t matter” to him, he would start over and only judge everyone by what happened on his watch.

That he would also approach Wyatt could be guessed early on. Even before his return, Levesque made his appreciation clear in an interview with journalist Ariel Helwani.

Wyatt was “in the best possible sense one of the craziest, creative people I know”. Sorting out the “whirlwind of his thoughts” and steering them in productive directions was also a challenge, “but I love working with him”.

In the autumn, Wyatt made a furious comeback, visibly moved by the huge fan response – and who also got the opportunity to memorialise his late friend and companion Jonathan Huber (Brodie Lee / Luke Harper) on the big stage.

WWE still had big plans for Wyatt

Under Levesque, Wyatt again played a big role in WWE, with a match against Bobby Lashley scheduled at the annual highlight WrestleMania in the spring. It also had a signal effect that Levesque gave Wyatt confidant Rob Fee a central job as creative “director of long-term storytelling”.

Wyatt’s severe Corona illness came between all further planning, with a renewed comeback now in the pipeline under the guidance of Levesque, who is currently steering WWE on his own again: McMahon, who returned this year despite the scandal, is currently recovering from massive neck surgery.

According to reports, including from Wyatt’s father Mike Rotunda, Wyatt’s return was well underway. Instead, Wyatt suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday.

Levesque had the sad task of announcing the terrible news and giving the memory a dignified setting. He succeeded, not least by giving Wyatt companions Erick Rowan, no longer active in WWE, and the currently injured Strowman an appropriately prominent place in the tribute gestures.

Levesque also casually included a symbolic gesture on McMahon’s behalf: The tribute video for Wyatt also featured an archival scene of Wyatt and the league founder hugging behind the scenes.